Six Just Stop Oil protesters, including the group’s co-founder, had their prison sentences reduced by the Court of Appeal this morning.

Roger Hallam and 15 other activists had been jailed last year for their roles in four protests.

The court did not reduce the sentences of 10 of the protesters.

The judge, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, ruled that Mr Hallam’s original sentences was “manifestly excessive”.

She also said “some attention must be paid to conscientious motivation and Articles 10 and 11” of the European Convention on Human Rights to protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.

Sentences reduced

A mass appeal hearing over two days in January 2025 resulted in reductions for the following activists today:

“The Whole Truth Five”, convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for planning disruption on the M25 to stop granting of new oil and gas licences

• Roger Hallam – the Just Stop Oil co-founder sentenced to five years, reduced to four years
• Cressida Gethin – sentenced to four years, reduced to 2.5 years
• Daniel Shaw – sentenced to four years, reduced to three years
• Louise Lancaster – sentenced to four years, reduced to three years
• Lucia Whittaker De Abreu – sentenced to four years, reduced to 2.5 years

Gaie Delap, who was sentenced to 20 months for her involvement in the M25 protest, saw her prison term reduced to 18 months.

Sentences upheld

The protesters whose sentences were not reduced were:

M25 gantry protesters, who climbed onto M25 gantries in the protest planned by the “Whole Truth Five”

• George Simonson and Theresa Higginson – sentences held at two years
• Paul Bell – sentence held at 22 months
• Paul Sousek sentence held at 20 months.

Navigator tunnellers who occupied tunnels dug under the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex

• Larch Maxey – sentence held at three years
• Chris Bennett – sentence held at 18 months
• Samuel Johnson – sentence held at 18 months
• Joe Howlett – sentence held at 15 months. 

Sunflowers soup protest where activists threw soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting

• Phoebe Plummer – sentence held at two years
• Anna Holland – sentence held at 20 months.

Reaction

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace intervened in the appeal hearing.

After today’s decision, Katie de Kauwe, senior lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said:

“Friends of the Earth is pleased that the Court of Appeal has reduced at least some of the climate activists’ sentences.

“Ultimately however, we believe that locking up those motivated by their genuine concern for the climate crisis is neither right or makes any sense – and at a time when our prisons are so grossly overcrowded.

“Friends of the Earth is proud to have supported the climate activists in their pursuit of justice. We urge the government to repeal the raft of regressive anti-protest legislation brought in by its predecessors to curb dissent and set about restoring the UK’s reputation as a tolerant country.”

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK, said:

“Despite some modest reductions, these sentences are still unprecedented and they still have no place in a democracy that upholds the right to protest.

“This appeal has led to some important clarifications and a recognition that the trial judge was mistaken in denying the protestors the protection of certain legal rights and in discounting the conscientious nature of their motivations.

“But this ruling will not halt, let alone reverse, the UK’s slide towards authoritarianism that began under the last government but is being enthusiastically embraced by this one.

“Even the most everyday protests, marches and rallies organised in cooperation with the police, are being demonised and blocked. If you care about anything any corporation or anyone in a position of power is doing, or should be doing, you should be incredibly concerned about your freedom to speak out. If you don’t raise your voice now, you may lose it forever.”

Just Stop Oil said in a statement:

“To consider what the Just Stop Oil 16 have done without considering the horror of a heating world, of billions dying in the coming decades, without recognising that our current economic system risks ending the rule of law and ordered civil society is frankly immoral. Today’s ruling is another nail in the crucifixion of Justice.

“Just Stop Oil recognises the courage of the many hundreds of ordinary people who have been tried and imprisoned over the last three years, many routinely denied any legal defence and the reasons why they acted considered neither ‘here nor there’ by the court. We recognise and honour the sacrifice of those who are still in prison, and those facing court cases that could end in imprisonment.”

Speaking to the Financial Times at the time of the appeal hearing, the UN special rapporteur for environmental defenders, Michel Forst, said that “Disproportionate sanctions for protests… have a significant adverse impact on the most fundamental freedoms.” He added that these are not felt just by those “personally criminalised” for protesting, but for all who’d like to participate in protest actions that are then deterred for fear of punishment.